More old stuff

Yeah, we have too much stuff, but I do try to trade out when we get something new.  Or new to us anyway.

Some time ago, we gave away the old triple dresser that we'd brought over from the US after we got a hand-me-down from Ursel - an antique pine dresser that was much more to my liking and much more in tune with our little house.

And it was pretty big, but not quite big enough to hold everything that had been in the old dresser.  So, we went on a hunt.

And we found something!  But of course it needed a little work.  Werner to the rescue, yet again.

He replaced runners, cleaned the pulls, and filled in more than a few holes the wood worms had left.

He sanded and waxed and now the old wood looks like honey, is as smooth as velvet and has a wonderful sheen.  I hope I don't fill it up too soon.
 

Playhouse Re-Do

Amina got a playhouse for Christmas.  Not one of those over-the-top mini-mansions with down-sized furniture from the decorators, but a little, formerly-loved-but-no-longer-needed little house.  It wanted some work to make it hers.

Grandparents to the rescue!  It's taken a while to do the rescue work since you don't paint when it's cold and wet outside, and we have had plenty of that since Christmas, pretty much full time I'd say.

But finally there was a break in the forecast, so we made plans to work.

Werner had repaired the roof on our last visit.  Now it was time to paint and replace some of the rotted wood.  Rima and Amina worked on the inside and did a great job.  And sometimes, Amina took a break....

And a house needs a mascot, don't you think?  Amina was seriously leaning toward dragons, but Mom had an opinion about that, so a sweet puppy was the compromise.  Good choice.

So we found a puppy and Opa painted him next to the door and we all declared ourselves happy with the results!  Especially the proud home owner.

Next project:  order warmer weather.

Repairs

Or rather, starting on repairs.

There's been a trickle of water in the bathroom, but not enough to brush teeth, much less take a shower.  So, down to business.  The ceiling has got to go so we can find the pipes.

First get everything out of the little front hallway.

 
Then put up a plastic sheet, because it is going to get dusty.

It's impossible to tell when these pipes were installed, but it was sometime before they figured out decent insulation.  Above the plasterboard is a 3cm thick mat of straw, held together with baling wire.  Needless to say, it's old and dry and dusty. What a mess!

And, there's one - a pipe - there behind the mineral wool wadding and paper.  Can you believe it?  Werner thinks little critters ate off the paper, ate some of the wool and exposed good bits of pipe.  I'll go with that, not having any other plausible explanation.

We're hoping that with a little warm air getting to them, they'll thaw and then we can set about putting in real insulation under the roof decking and around the pipes.

And just maybe call the plumber for a consult.

This adventure is far from over.

A Belated Thank You

I am late in telling my mother "thank you" for teaching me how to sew -- I think about 55 years late.

I'm not sure exactly when I started sewing, but it seems I began by just playing. What a great way to learn! The first machine I used was electric  - probably a Singer - in its own cabinet, though I am certain there was a pedal machine before that. Unlike today's electric machines, though, the on/off control was with a knee pedal, not a foot pedal so it was a bit of a stretch for my little legs. But what an array of attachments!  There was something to make gathers that went clicky-clicky-clicky. And a hem roller.  And a pleater - it clackity-clacked, too.  I remember playing with the machine and trying out all the attachments.  What fun!  Can you imagine having fun with sewing machine attachments?  But I did.

For a long time Mother didn't have an attachment to make button holes.  That was a totally different tool that cost extra bucks but made finishing blouses a whole lot easier; before that, Mother did all the buttonholes by hand with - you know - the buttonhole stitch (called a blanket stitch, too).

And I remember Ginny trying to adjust patterns and trying to match plaids.  What a challenge.

And I remember embroidering dish cloths for Ginny as a wedding gift.  She saves everything, and she still has these drying cloths 50+ years on!


Gradually I learned how to use the machine for real sewing.  And how to do the hand stitching that goes along with the machine - hemming and trimming.  The first dress I made all by myself was the one I wore for my last day of school in Baltimore - 1960, still age 14 - the same year Ginny and Barry got married.  I think I made half of my wardrobe that I took to FSU in 1962 when I was 16.  I made clothes for Michelle and for Lee (though they didn't always love them!) When he was just 2, Hunter needed a scabbard for his sword, and later Hannah needed dresses for herself and her dolls.  I've made lots of "clothes" for our furniture, too - slipcovers and bedcovers of all sorts.

This week I have started in earnest to get things ready for the craft show in November.  And then there is Dylan's birthday coming up, so of course she gets something homemade (poor kid - the other grandparents get to provide the store-bought games and toys!). A dress for her and a dress for the American Girl doll.

And so, I have been sewing a lot, And I have been thinking back about how I started to sew.

So I just wanted to say "Thanks, Mother!"  

Saving Rain

The Green Party didn't take first place in the election last Sunday, but they came in a very strong second and ahead of the CDU for first time ever!  Yea!

So what does that have to do with rain?  Well, we added another "green" element to our lives - a Rain Barrel.

It seems to me that at least every other home has one "Regentonne" or more.  In the hobby gardens, there are often four or five strung together but they tend to be on the - ummm - utilitarian side  (read:  ugly).  Since our rain barrel would have to go next to the front door, ugly would not do.

Search and research.  Measure and plan.  We found one.

First we had to get rid of the old cypress that was in the corner.  Done.

Then a base for the rain barrel. Done.

Open the package and set it up.  Done.

The top has a planter to help sorta kinda incorporate it into its surroundings; in another few weeks the petunias and such should gracefully drape from the top.  In winter, it'll be ivy.

 
And just in time!  It rained the day after we got it all set up and I was amazed that the tank was almost full after a very short rain - 300 liters.  Good for us.

Stairway to .....

not Heaven.  Just the upstairs.  And those of you who've been here know upstairs isn't big, so it doesn't need a grand entrance.  But a little upgrade wouldn't hurt.

Werner's thought for some time that the very ordinary handrail along the wall needed replacing.  He's right.  In fact, he had already upgraded it by simply sawing the ends so that they were cut at 90° to the floor and not at 90° to the rail.

Here in Bremen there are so many old houses and buildings that are either being upgraded or re-decorated or torn down that there's a shop for old building parts.  Perfect!

They have doors.  (That'll be a project, too.)

They have phones.  (Not on my list.)

They have newel posts, but we don't need one of those. 

Need a key?  They have those, too.

Wednesday he'll pick up the new/old hand rail and has already thought that the hand rail on the other side should be returned to the natural wood.  I agree.  I'll let you know when it all gets done!

New Stairs

Of course the stairs aren't NEW.  There is nothing new about this house!  But they do look a lot different now.

When we moved in, there were a thousand things we wanted to do and no time to do them all. Compromise was the word of the day and we've done that more than a few times since.  Put off.  Wait.  Later. 

Later has finally arrived for the stairs.

They were uncovered when we moved in, which is not to say "usable."  There were coats of paint and old stuff from old carpet, so the emergency solution was more carpet.  It was never pretty and the rubber edges, though practical, were always offensive, both esthetically and visually (is that the same thing?).

Some years ago Werner found some brass stair rods, those charming things that hold down the carpet where the tread meets the riser.  Time to use them!

Off with the old!  It is never ever as easy as it looks and always takes at least twice as long to finish.  The old carpet backing and the old layers of paint took scraping and whacking and sanding.  There had to be wood under there somewhere!

And there it was!  Stressed wood.  Hard to believe that people actually pay for this look when they can get it for free with a 150-year-old house and three weeks' labor.  Before and after:

Isn't it pretty? I love the way it looks and feels.

So, time to go to the carpet store and order a runner.  Here's the kicker:  our precious brass stair rods are 60 cm. wide which means we can have carpet 50 cm wide.  HARD TO FIND. One store in Bremen offered limited choices in 50 cm; we special ordered it to only to be told a week later that the manufacturer no longer makes that width - not enough call for it.  Well.  Well.  Well.

Option 1:  leave them bare.  I kind of like it!

Option 2:  buy new cute brass stair rods for a wider carpet! 

We're putting off a decision.  Maybe we'll find a compromise.

Nostalgia

Actually, "old people's memories" might be a better title. 

I've been doing a bit of sewing for Christmas and thinking of doll clothes for Dylan's and Hannah's dolls. This brings back lots of pleasant memories, and reminds me of paper dolls.

Paper dolls.  Who reading this remembers Betsy McCall?  (I'll guess two. ) I see paper doll books in stores once in a while, but years and years ago it was a standard in the toy stores and 5&10 stores and drug stores and wherever coloring books were sold.  A part of that trend was Betsy McCall , a once-monthly feature in McCall's magazine, the same company that produced McCall's patterns (and of course touted their product along with the play-toy).  She was a cute little girl -10-ish I'd say -  and each month there was a different theme and paper cut-out clothes to go along with the theme.

I LOVED cutting out the dolls and the clothes.  I even designed clothes myself for these little paper dolls and made dolls of my own.  Naturally, this magazine did not show up monthly at our address - that was waaayyy too expensive.  It seems I saw more of them at Aunt Geraldine's in Tishomingo, Mississippi, during our summer vacations.   I don't remember if I only drooled over the cut outs there or if I sneaked them from the magazine or what.

Anyway, here is an example of the former Betsy McCall Paper Doll,one of the later versions. 

Read and sigh.

Assorted KetchUp

I feel busy and not-busy, distracted and concentrated, lazy and - back to the beginning - busy. All at the same time and not. Do you understand that? Neither do I.

Of course, I think I am like everyone else and that everyone else is just like me so of course you understand. On the other hand, I often find that I am out standing in my field, and that I am all alone.

If you can't figure that out, it's OK. Werner and I can't either - and I'm writing it! . Here's the KetchUp.

Art KetchUp

Last weekend we made a side trip to Delmenhorst. We have biked there before - it's only 20K or so from here, but because it is cold and seemingly always threatening rain these days, we took the car. There's an exhibit of works from German Art Nouveau in the small city museum - always a pleasant diversion.

Here's Werner checking out one of the paintings.

And here is evidence that needlepoint has been around as a decorative element for some time (of course, much loner than this). I don't see needlepoint in museums often, and though I'm not tempted to recreate this pattern, it was nevertheless confirming to see that artists who create paintings also have inclinations to make our daily lives more ... artful. And that was the whole point of the exhibition.

Spring KetchUp

After the cultural refreshment, we took in some natural refreshment - and though it is still cold and wet (I did say that already, didn't I?) there's evidence that spring is coming. Color is so welcome and in the local park there were these snowdrops.

Then of course it was time for - what else - Kaffee und Kuchen. We found a local café and after a bit of refreshment we headed home to ---

Food KetchUp

We haven't stopped eating. We're in pause mode regarding dinners out at friends' but have had some pretty interesting dinners at home: Sauerkraut with Pinkel and boiled potatoes (don't knock it till you've tried it), tomato and fennel sauce with pasta (one of my absolute favorites) and the other day it was Tuscan white bean soup with kale.

I had to start this dish immediately after breakfast so the beans could be cooked soft before we went off to classes and such. When we got back we added the rest of the ingredients and had this wonderful - really tasty - dish for dinner. For a cool spring evening, I can't imagine much of anything that could taste better. A salad, some crusty bread, oh my oh my. Believe me, the time is worth it. And of course you make A LOT so there are left overs so you don't have to cook the next day! How great is that? The recipe is here, and you should really do it. Really.

Word of warning: I didn't EXACTLY follow the recipe. What else is new? I had some great local smoked bacon, so didn't need the pancetta. I used only kale and no escarole. I used fresh tomatoes because I had them and I didn't have celery but I put in more parsley. Doesn't matter, it was still wonderful.

Project KetchUp

We need more projects? No, but there was an auction the other week and I found these orphans. They needed a home. And I thought they'd like it here with us.

Like all the other things I've adopted over the years, they need some attention and work and a little love. They'll get a good work over from Werner and I already have new covers for them in my mind. They might have to wait a while though. But I think they've already waited a good many years and maybe they are patient enough to wait for me.